


make it mean something

by mcmeekin



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: ANGRY feminism bullshit, Gen, feminism bullshit, wow another fic about lauren who's surprised not me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:37:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4451501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcmeekin/pseuds/mcmeekin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There is nothing 'only' about being a girl." -Sarah Jane Smith</p><p>(a story about the first female red ranger who couldn't defeat her villain)</p>
            </blockquote>





	make it mean something

**Author's Note:**

> well this fic was born out of a deep anger at lauren's treatment in samurai and a desperate need for someone to explain how the samurai hierarchy/leadership stuff actually works aaaaaand that quote from doctor who (i am not actually sorry at all)

(It crosses her mind more than it should.)

 

As she grows up, she hears about the other teams that defend Earth through the years. The footage of old teams is often used by her mentor as lessons: the smoothness of a zord, the precision of a weapon, the synchronization of a team. And she does not fail to notice that none of the red ones wear skirts.

 

Women were not allowed to head Samurai households officially until sometime in the early 1900s. Before that, the oldest member of the family would  _serve_ on the team (despite gender), but if the oldest was a woman, she would not be the _official_ head of house.

But no girl has worn red. There has never been a Lady Shiba before, never been a girl holding the power to defeat Xandred. That thought weighs just as heavily on her shoulders as her father’s expectations.

 

She’s allowed into the nearby town occasionally for runs or other exercise. Today, she’s stopped at a crosswalk when she glances over at the playground to her right and sees children playing power rangers. “And you’ll be pink,” one of the boys is telling a girl.

“Why?” she whines. “I hate pink!”

“Because you’re the only girl that wants to play so you have to be pink!” the boy tells her matter-of-factly. The girl seems to accept this, and Lauren’s heart breaks a little. She wants to run over to them and explain that the girl can be whatever color she wants. Instead, she stuffs her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and crosses the street. She’s always hated the color pink.

 

She finds a move that she wants to learn in a book. Her mentor refuses to teach her. When she asks why, he tells her that the move can be harmful to girls. She learns it anyway, at night in her room, using the book as her guide. Maybe that’s the day she started hating her gender. Maybe that’s the day the word ‘girl’ started feeling less like an observation and more like a slap.

 

The Council of Advisors for Shiba House is made up of ten representatives: four from the families and six from the minor families. Mostly they’re cousins or younger siblings of the Heads of Houses. They’re ten of the thirteen people who know she’s alive.

The councilmen (and they are all men, she doesn’t fail to notice) are arguing about something that she’s not quite tracking with until one of the minor family’s representatives says, “We already have to deal with her brother,” gesturing toward Lauren. “I will not stand for tradition being uprooted again.”

“It is our only option,” the yellow family representative argues, obviously agitated. “Serena is too sick to fight. This option has been approved of in the past.”

“In the past, this option was approved of much earlier, so adequate training was implemented. You are suggesting that we put a morpher in an untrained and unprepared little girl’s hand,” the blue representative says mildly.

“It is either that or…or forcing one of the minor families to send someone who would be just as unprepared as Emily!” the yellow one says forcefully.

“But they would be a Head of House!” the minor representative protests.

Lauren looks down at the proposal the yellow representative had brought her, then idly flips through the file on the yellow family that was brought. So far in her career as Lady Shiba, she has let the advisors hash it out and has just signed whatever they had come up with. But this is a decision about who will be on _her_ team.

“I think we should let Emily be the yellow ranger,” Lauren says in a soft voice. Everyone immediately falls still and quiet, probably from the shock of her actually contributing to a proposal discussion. She clears her throat uncomfortably. “I mean, if Serena is voluntarily passing the powers to Emily, then that’s allowed, isn’t it?”

The blue representative is the first to move, leaning forward and placing his hands on the table. “My Lady Shiba, with all due respect, I am not sure you understand the delicacy of the political situation here—”

“With all due respect, I don’t give a damn about the political situation,” she interrupts him, just as quietly and mildly as he had spoken. Several sharp intakes of breath echo around the table, but she keeps looking at the blue representative. “Emily is closer in age to the rest of the rangers than Serena anyway,” she says, finally letting her eyes fall back to the file in front of her. “She appears to be a good match for her element and has shown promise in early symbol power teachings. I think she will be an excellent fit.” Lauren picks up her pen and signs the proposal absently, still looking at the file. “The team probably won’t be activated for another few years, so she’ll have time to learn the basics.” She stands and hands the proposal back to the yellow representative. “Council dismissed.”

They all stare at her in shocked silence for a moment before exchanging uneasy glances. They file out, whispers raging between them. She catches the tail end of a comment accidentally: “…from a mere girl.”

She decides she hates them all.

 

She starts deliberately making decisions _she_ thinks are best, ignoring the Council and often not bothering to call them at all. Antonio gets to stay; he’s a good fighter and dismissing him would be hard without blowing her cover. Cody isn’t prosecuted for releasing the Bull Zord; he’s just a little boy, and it ended up being beneficial in the end. Mentor Ji can unlock any weapons he wants; why would she limit him?

The Council grumbles, and the whispers get louder, but she doesn’t care. Or maybe she does, too much, which is why she’s pushing back so hard.

 

This time it’s a group of teenagers at the playground racing each other. “You run like a girl!” one of the boys says to a girl who’s just finished her race.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks. “I _am_ a girl.”

“Just ignore him; he’s being sexist,” another girl says with an eye roll.

“I bet _you_ run like a girl,” the boy teases.

She whirls around to face him. “Yeah. Punch like one too.”

She punches him square in the jaw, sending him reeling. Lauren grins the whole way home.

 

The Council gets to decide when she’s ready. It’s a week before her assessment when she calls the Council to advise her on a proposal. She’s about to enter the Council’s room when she hears the green councilman talking to someone.

“Do we really think she’s ready?” he’s asking. “I mean, she’s only a girl.”

The rage fuels her the rest of the week.

 

Somewhere along the line the idea that she’s not good enough, the idea that she’ll never be good enough because she’s a _girl_ , the idea that there’s no way she can do it because of her gender becomes so twisted up in her brain that it becomes true. She doesn’t do it. She fails. And for a long time it defines her. The first female red ranger who couldn’t defeat her villain.

She runs from the definition, traveling far and wide and to places that have never even heard of power rangers. Somehow, after all that, she finds herself back in the town she grew up near. She finds herself on the street corner she stood on so many times, near the playground. She stands there, on that corner, for too long. Afternoon is rolling in when she sees it, out of the corner of her eye. A group of boys chase a girl towards the playground, their backpacks being shed as they race after her. The girl looks terrified. Laruen realizes something is very wrong when the girl trips over a root, and the boys stop running to surround and laugh at her. Lauren is already standing in front of them before she realizes that she even started moving.

“What are you doing?” she barks out. She must sound intimidating enough because the laughter cuts off abruptly. Several of the boys look afraid, and she tries not to let her pleasure at that fact show on her face. None of them respond, so Lauren slowly reaches down and helps the girl up. “I think you boys should go home,” Lauren suggests. They all nod solemnly before practically scurrying away.

She realizes that the girl has been crying. “Hey, it’s okay,” Lauren says automatically. “They’re gone now; it’s fine.” The girl looks up at her with wide eyes. Lauren tries for a smile. “I’m Lauren; what’s your name?”

The girl hesitates for a while. “Sydney.”

“That’s a very nice name. Did they hurt you, Sydney?”

She shakes her head. “They were just teasing me.”

Lauren presses her lips together. “So they did hurt you.”

Sydney looks confused. “No, they were just saying mean things.”

“Words can hurt a lot more than fists sometimes,” Lauren says gently. “You can’t let them get to you, okay? Don’t believe what they say about you. Be better than them. Be stronger.”

She continues to look confused. “Be stronger than them? How can I do that?”

Lauren thinks for a moment. “Well, aren’t you a girl?”

Sydney tilts her head to the side in confusion. “Yes.”

Lauren smiles softly. “Being a girl is the best and strongest thing you can be. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, okay?”

Sydney nods slowly. “Okay.”

“Good,” Lauren says. “Do you need help getting home?”

She shakes her head. “My mama is coming.”

Lauren nods. “Well, it was nice to meet you Sydney.”

(And maybe that little girl's smile makes it all a little bit worth it.)

**Author's Note:**

> yeah that was syd from spd fight me about it why don't you  
> (don't actually fight me i'm sick right now you would win)  
> hmu over at powerprincesses.tumblr.com


End file.
